BEST BETS, OCT. 24 TO 30
DANCE
The fearless Australian choreographer Lucy Guerin brings her contemporary dance company back to Ottawa this week for a repeat performance of her award-winning duet, Split. Danced by two female dancers, one naked and one clothed, and set to a percussive score by U.K. composer Scanner, critics say the provocative piece showcases “everything that’s exciting about dance as an art form.” It’s in the NAC’s Azrieli Studio today through Saturday. Tickets are available at nac-cna.ca.
BLUES
New Brunswick-born, Montreal-based bluesman Rob Lutes returns to the Ottawa area for a solo concert at the NAC’s Fourth Stage tonight, and an appearance Sunday at the Perth Tea Room. With his fingerstyle guitar and smoky, expressive voice, the singer-songwriter weaves blues with folk, jazz and heartache, always releasing consistently fine albums. His latest, Walk in the Dark, is no exception, earning him a 2018 Canadian Folk Music Award for contemporary singer of the year. A fellow Montrealer, Mike McKenna Jr., will open the show at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are available at nac-cna.ca.
COUNTRY
Although he’s only 30 years old, Saskatoon-born Zachary Lucky sounds like an old-school country troubadour who wears his heart on the sleeve of his plaid shirt. His new album, Midwestern, came out this month, and it’s filled with intimate songs that express a range of emotions, from the joys of fatherhood to the fear of climate change. Lucky (yes, that’s his real name) is bringing his band to the
NAC’s Fourth Stage at 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, with an opening set by Landon Coleman. Tickets at nac-cna.ca.
OPERA
Shakespeare’s timeless story of star-crossed lovers girds the
French-language opera Roméo et Juliette, which Ottawa’s Pellegrini Opera will stage this weekend at the Meridian Theatres at Centrepointe Studio. The opera will be fully staged and costumed with chamber ensemble at its 7:30 p.m. performances on Friday and Saturday, while Saturday’s 2 p.m. matinee will feature piano accompaniment. While the opera will be sung in French, there will be English surtitles. VIP tickets, which include preferred seating and a private post-performance reception with the cast, are $70. General tickets are $55 ($45 for seniors, $25 for students), and administrative fees of $5.75 apply for all purchases. Call 613580-2700 or order tickets online at meridiancentrepointe.com. For more info: pellegriniopera. org.
JAZZ
Modasaurus, the jazz-fusion quartet formed in 2016 by Carleton University music professor and keyboardist James McGowan, was in the studio last August. The group, which also includes Carleton alumni Alex Moxon on guitar, bassist J.P. Lapensee and drummer Jamie Holmes, is to spend another day in the studio and aims to put out its next record in late 2020, McGowan says. Until then, you can get a sense of what Modasaurus is cooking up by attending its gig on Friday night at the Options Jazz Lounge of the Brookstreet Hotel in Kanata. The music runs from 8 p.m. to midnight and there is no cover charge.